Sheffield United’s hopes of signing Manchester City forward Cole Palmer could be over before they even get properly going.
The Blades are reportedly keen on signing Palmer from City. Paul Heckingbottom has interest in a number of City youngsters again, and is believed to have made it clear to Pep Guardiola that he’d take Palmer on loan.
j
However, West Ham could now put a quick end to any hopes United had of landing Palmer.
According to Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth, who cites the West Ham ITK account exWHUEmployee, the Hammers are keen on taking Palmer on a loan deal themselves this season.
It comes as West Ham face a battle to keep star midfielder Lucas Paqueta out of the clutches of City. Sheth says that as of yet, it remains unclear whether a move for Palmer is part of the discussions for Paqueta.
For Sheffield United, it looks like being a similar story to which they’ve faced all summer long.
Despite having extra time to plan for transfers, United have been frustrated in attempts to land some targets, with Premier League money and the markets they’re now operating in proving tricky to navigate.
Should West Ham be serious about Palmer, it’s highly likely they blow the Blades out of the water in terms of wages and a loan fee.
Sheffield United News View: Palmer was always going to be tough to get
The thing with Cole Palmer is that we aren’t talking about a Doyle or McAtee here. This is a player who is very much involved in the City first-team quite regularly.
With that, City will want him playing at the highest level and with the best players possible. And given they’re in talks over getting Paqueta, it gives them extra ammo to get that deal done as well.
United will need to find out quickly if this one is dead in the water or not. If it is, then move on, find other targets, and try and get them in.
The season kicks off in two days. As Paul Heckingbottom says, we are ‘miles off it’ and cannot afford to waste time on targets who could end up elsewhere.
